Through the past darkly: Reflections on UFC on FUEL TV 7

Here’s something to help us put Renan Barao’s winning streak in perspective: The last time he lost a fight, “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani was a hit song.

You remember “Hollaback Girl,” right? Catchy? Lots of feet-stomping noises? Lyrics made no sense whatsoever? Well, picture where you were back when that song was on the radio every seven minutes in the spring of 2005. Picture yourself bobbing your head along with the beat and hoping nobody sees you. Then picture Barao losing a unanimous decision to Joao Paulo in Natal, Brazil. Both those things probably happened around the same time, but whereas you have likely listened to “Hollaback Girl” a depressing number of times since then (and, be honest, at least tapped your toe every single time), Barao has yet to lose another fight.

Obviously, there’s a conversation to be had about quality of competition. No offense to “Dande Dande,” who Barao knocked out in November 2005, but it’s possible that not all 30 wins on his record came against top-shelf opponents. Still though, the past four or five are pretty unassailable, and Barao’s been running through them. I’m not sure I’m ready to give all the way into the promo hype and declare him “a monster,” but his claim to that No. 1 contendership – otherwise known as the interim title – is simply not up for debate after his fourth-round submission of Michael McDonald at the UFC on FUEL TV 7 event in London.

What I wonder is, once Cruz can finally step into the octagon without hobbling, how fair a fight should we really expect?

Barao’s a tough out for any fighter, even one in perfect health and at the height of his powers. Cruz may be the only real bantamweight champion the UFC has ever had, but he’s also been on the sidelines since October 2011. Best-case scenario, he might be ready to fight this summer. Then again, he told me this past week that he has a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday that will determine whether he’s cleared to begin running again.

How do we expect him to go from a tentative jog to title-fight shape in less than six months? Even if we wait until the fall, by then it will have been a solid two years since his last fight. He says he’s not worried about ring rust – his actual quote on it was, “I feel like I’m an exception to the rule, in a lot of cases … just look at my fighting style” – but come on, don’t they all say that? From Georges St-Pierre to Alistair Overeem to “Rampage” Jackson, don’t they all shrug off ring rust concerns before a fight, only to admit afterward that hey, whaddaya know, it’s actually a real thing?

That’s why it seems like kind of a screwjob to throw Cruz in against Barao after such a lengthy injury layoff, but what other option is there? You can’t exactly give the bantamweight champ a warm-up fight, and Barao is running low on interesting opponents as it is. Face it, even if it is a really bad deal for him, Cruz is probably going to have to make his comeback against one of the best bantamweights in the world. He’s probably going to have to put his title on the line in one of the least advantageous situations imaginable, and against an opponent who seems to be right in the sweet spot between under-utilized and over-worked.

Is Cruz up for that? Well, not now, no. But in a few months, once he can not only run but also jump around the cage like a crazed popcorn kernel, as is his usual fashion? Even then, I don’t know. It’s a lot to ask of anybody, even Cruz. The thing is, there’s really no way to avoid the question.

Cub Swanson is done messing with you people

If you’re still thinking of Swanson only as the dude who got double-jumping-kneed by Jose Aldo in the WEC, listen, it’s time to stop that. Swanson deserves that much. After losing his UFC debut, he’s rattled off four straight wins, including two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses. His decision win over Dustin Poirer was one of the best fights on the FUEL TV card, largely due to Swanson’s risk-taking style and punishing mentality. Who is this guy, and what did he do with the mediocre fighter whose WEC run was notable mostly for the fodder it provided for other fighters’ highlight reels?

“I’m just not messing around anymore,” Swanson explained at the post-fight news conference before pointing out that having metal plates put in your face tends to give you a sense of urgency about your fighting career.

“I know this can be done at every moment,” Swanson said. “Every fight, I take it like it’s my last.”

I’ve heard a lot of fighters say that over the years. This might be the first time I’ve actually believed it.

Gunnar Nelson gets it done, but the mystique may be wearing off

It’s not hard to see how some MMA fans got so excited so quickly about Nelson. These are likely the same people who built a cult around Fedor Emelianenko, so a seemingly emotionless Icelandic grappling ace is right up their alley. But while Nelson notched a clear win over journeyman Jorge Santiago on the undercard, you can’t say he dominated. He spent a lot of time on his feet, showing off an unorthodox striking game that’s clearly still a work in progress. The few times he did take it to the mat he looked to be in control, but in little danger of ending the fight there.

That’s not to say Nelson isn’t a rare talent worth keeping an eye on. He’s still just 24 years old, and as UFC President Dana White said after the event, “He’s got nothing but time.” But after a fairly unremarkable decision against Santiago, who hasn’t won a UFC bout since he knocked out the late Justin Levens in 2006, I think it’s safe to say he still has some growing to do.

A very good night on all fronts for Tom Watson

He pocketed $100,000 in bonuses after he blasted Stanislav Nedkov with the “Knockout of the Night” (also the only knockout on the card) to end the “Fight of the Night.” Then he got on the mike in his post-fight interview and issued a public challenge to any fighter on testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), which he criticized as an “epidemic” in MMA. If he’d done this three months ago, you wonder how well received it would have been by the UFC brass. But since it came on the heels of White’s own about-face on the TRT issue, it’s hard for the bosses to get too mad at him for expressing the same sentiment that the president of the company did a day earlier.

Personally, I couldn’t be more pleased to see a fighter use his valuable post-knockout camera time to get vocal about this issue. If we want to see a change, this is what it’s going to take. Fighters have to hold each other accountable, rather than keeping quiet on something they know is wrong just because they’re afraid of the backlash or, worse, because they want it to be available if and when they might decide they need it. Watson put himself out there and took a personal risk in order to make an ethical stand. For that, he should be commended. Let’s hope others follow his lead.

Another event, another chance to complain about MMA judging

I’m not sure how one judge scored the Matt Riddle-Che Mills fight 29-28 in favor of Mills. I’m also not sure how a judge could give James Te Huna a 10-8 for his dominant second round against Ryan Jimmo, yet not give Jimmo one for pounding Te Huna right to the brink of unconsciousness in the first.

Of course, White never misses an opportunity to go off on baffling displays of judging incompetence, and it was the same after this one. The difference is, the UFC can’t fall back on the old “we’re regulated by the government” excuse in the U.K. There’s no athletic commission oversight of UFC events in England. It picks its own judges and refs there, and could make its own drug policy too (just saying, as long as we’ve all still got TRT on the brain).

That’s why it’s interesting to see what the UFC does when it has the ability to reshape the MMA world in its image. Will it fire judges for one bad call, or will it take a long history of screw-ups to land a person on the no-judge list? Even worse, will it do nothing, much like the state athletic commissions do, figuring that the sub-par judges it knows are better than the ones it doesn’t? Herein lies (one of) the problem(s) with a fight promotion regulating itself, however. If you start throwing out the judges who return scores you don’t like, how long before you’re getting rid of refs who don’t break up clinches fast enough? And what happens if you don’t do any of that, but a weird fight here or there leads fans to accuse you of it anyway?

We’ve all seen Twitter light up with accusations of fight-fixing after a bad call in Las Vegas. At least there the UFC can brush it off by pointing the finger at the state athletic commission. But when you’re your own watchdog, that’s a luxury you don’t have. I know Marc Ratner has said he wants the UFC to get out of the self-regulation business, but finding some other entity to step in and do the job is tougher than it sounds. After all, look how hard it is to find three competent judges who can be trusted to know a 10-8 round when they see one.

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